


Into the Wastes

by Firekittylol (orphan_account)



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: AU, Enemies to Friends, Future Angst, General tomfoolery, Grimm and Pk are pals, Mystery, Other, PK holds the brain cell for most of this, Pk and Radi hate eachother, Pk/WL is mentioned, Same with Hornet, Telepathy, This mainly centers around the three higher beings, WL is briefly mentioned, and Hollow, and ghost, aslo, but are cool by the end, fun :), no ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 11:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27969743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Firekittylol
Summary: The Pale King, who is no longer king as that title had been given to the little Ghost that saved Hallownest, looked at the two higher beginnings standing by where he sat next to his wife, staring at them in pure disbelief. “A walking city?”
Relationships: The Pale King/White Lady (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 32





	1. Prologue

The Pale King, who is no longer king as that title had been given to the little Ghost that saved Hallownest, looked at the two higher beginnings standing by where he sat next to his wife, staring at them in pure disbelief. “ _A walking city_?”

“Yes!” The moth goddess, Radiance, had said, “We saw a walking city in the Wastelands. Brother, back me up!”

“She’s not lying.” Grimm said.

“ _See_?”

The wyrm just looked at the two of them, his eyes saying ‘ _Do you hear how crazy you sound_?’ He’d been happily reading a book on physics before these two had come rushing over to him, insisting that he knew something about it. He may have grown up in the Wastelands, but in the end that truly meant nothing, as the wastes are vast, and he probably would’ve sensed the source of power it would take to maintain a walking city if such a thing could be made.

“Old friend please,” The Nightmare Heart’s vessel started, “We understand how insane it sounds. But we did see a walking civilization, the architecture was unmistakably hand made.”

Oh, but that was not near enough to convince old, younger than the three surrounding him but still old in the eyes of mortals ,god that this was real. There was building tension in the back of his head, tension that told him he was not going to like what his foresight was telling him Grimm would say next. Oh by the gods.

“Sister and I are going to go look for it.”

Gods, Why?

“ _You’re insane_. The both of you have no idea how to survive out there, if the weather doesn’t kill you then the creatures will.” The Pale wyrm was right, Radiance had been born and raised in Hallownest and had never left, and the Grimm troupe traveled to civilizations, yes, they were dying civilizations, but civilized still. Yes, the two of them were powerful gods, but that meant nothing in the Wastelands, creatures there didn’t fight fair, and a godless land isn’t going to be kind to gods.

“Which is why…” Grimm said, the hesitation and nervousness clear,

No. No, no no. Please, no.

“We were hoping you’d come with us, as a guide.”


	2. Plunge Yourself into Cursed Lands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wyrm was thinking about his decision, wondering how these two managed to convince him to join their wild goose chase, he knew it was a bad idea. Despite being the god of mind and soul, he was still a wyrm, and this place tended to bring out those instincts, to a point where he was constantly fighting against himself.

The days so far had been uneventful, and other than snow storms and dust devils, the weather had been fairly reasonable. The wyrm was thinking about his decision, wondering how these two managed to convince him to join their wild goose chase, he knew it was a bad idea. Despite being the god of mind and soul, he was still a wyrm, and this place tended to bring out those instincts, to a point where he was constantly fighting against himself.

Today was nearly the same as all the others, however, they had taken shelter in a good sized cavern, as the mix of snow and sand that raged outside made it impossible to travel. Grimm and Radiance looked through supplies, they didn’t know how long the storm would last, so making sure they had a good amount of rations was important.

“Did...did we really only bring a week's worth of supplies?” Grimm quietly asked Radiance, trying not to disturb their guide, who was laying away from the other two.

“We didn’t really think this through did we?” Not really an answer, but it said enough. Actually, Radiance had been in charge of packing provisions, but they had all thought it would be easy to spot a walking city. 

So far, they’d been proven wrong.

Wyrm turned over, looking at them from his spot on the ground, he didn’t say anything, just gave the two older gods a scrutinizing look and sighed. He’d have to show them how to hunt and scavenge, there wasn’t much need to worry about water, they could just boil snow and strain out the sand. The other two turned to him, but he just laid back down, leaving the other two to give him a worried look, he knew he was being unreasonable, and he was trying not to make it their problem. 

Do something, “Sorry.” he gave a mumbled apology, “I’ll show you two how to hunt when the storm passes.” 

This seems to have put them at ease, as they went back to the bag.

The provisions lasted long enough for them to wait out the storm, and Wyrm was more than happy to be back outdoors, it meant he could focus on something other than the overwhelming scent of someone he hates ~~and the overwhelming desire to kill her~~. He tried to pick up the scent of prey, tongue quickly flicking through the air.

“This way.” he said, looking behind to make sure the other two were following. 

They continued until they found the prey Wyrm had smelled, he whispered directions, “Make sure the wind isn’t blowing your scent towards them.” he crouched down, “move silently, light steps.” closer and closer, “slowly.” 

He lunged at the creature, killing it in a single blow, “Attack when their guard is down, and always go for the neck.” he dragged the prey back to the other two, “Always skin and quarter while it’s Fresh, don’t drag it too far and make sure to dry it out. We don’t want others to track us off it’s scent.”

He got to work with the messy task of skinning and quartering, then used his magic to cook and dry it, wrapped the meat in fabric and left what couldn’t be used. “Normally I’d try to make tools and clothing of what’s left, we could certainly take the pelt with us. We may come across a trader, they find most pelts valuable, and will likely make it worth the hassle.” _ Stop rambling. _

They’re staring. He turned away, “Which way did you see the city go?”

“Northwest.” Radiance said, this past week has been spent just getting to where they’d originally seen it. 

“Northwest it is then.” he closed his eyes, feeling for the magnetic pull, “Northwest is this way, perhaps you both should train your senses while we travel… I can’t be the only one doing any work here.”

This earned a laugh from Grimm and an annoyed looked from Radiance.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, kinda uneventful, but it'll get better I promise :)
> 
> Set up, sweet set up


	3. Lessons and Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learning lessons, and names!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I gave you guys PK's name early because Typing out "Wyrm, pale wyrm, pale god, etc" was just super tedious and annoying.   
> But anyways! Enjoy some foreshadowing, a little backstory, and Grimm being annoying! Also, NKG makes a very short appearance!

They’d been traveling Northwest for about 6 hours when they felt a rumble in the earth, Wyrm had insisted they get to higher ground, and managed to get the other two to listen despite the demands for an explanation. They stood atop a cliff, watching the ground below, the sand and snow shifted. 

“So, what are we looking at?” Radiance said, “And why are we hiding up here instead of fighting it?” Annoyance dripped from her words, and Wryrm rolled his eyes.

“You really don’t feel it?” He asked, “We’re dealing with another wyrm, obviously, and even if we weren’t I still wouldn’t want to risk a fight.” 

“Oh, so the oh-so-powerful god doesn’t want to fight his own kind?” it was a rhetorical question, “How noble.”

He clicked his tongue, “You know nothing of Wyrm Rights, and before you even start, I have no love for what you call my kin.” 

She scoffed, and earned herself a sharp jab from Grimm. The ground below the cliff shifted and broke apart as the wyrm surfaced, the Pale god could now see the fully matured wyrm, and deduced that this one had only recently left the nest. Even though the parent had likely chased them off, they were probably nearby, looking for a new mate. It would be best to move on from here as quickly as possible.

“This one is fully mature, but only recently left their parent’s land.” 

“How is that relevant to whether or not we should fight it?” 

Another eye roll, “Because the parent is nearby looking for a new mate, which means there are two of them. It’d be best to get as far away from here as possible, as quickly as possible.”

Grimm chimed in, “Yes well.” he pointed in the direction they needed to go, “From the looks of things, that wyrm came from the northwest, and that  _ is  _ the direction we need to go in. A fight seems inevitable at this point.”

The Pale wyrm was surprised, he hadn’t noticed that the younger wyrm had come from there, and if this is true they’d be passing a wyrm nest. He looked to his foresight, and from that he gathered that a fight was the most likely outcome, there were few where they managed to sneak by unnoticed. 

He sighed, “It looks like you’re right on that…'' Well, out of the frying pan and into the fire he supposed. Lucky, the sun was getting low enough that it would become too dark to continue traveling. It wouldn’t take long to find a shelter, they’d seen many cave entrances on the cliff side, and the three of them could fly, so getting there wouldn’t be too big a problem. Unfortunately, being stuck in a small cave with those two meant he couldn’t avoid their questions.

“So tell me again why we’re in a cave when the threats outside are asleep? We can easily get around them now.” Radiance knew he wasn’t going to fight the wyrms outside if it could be avoided. “You don’t want to fight, so I’d think we’d be using the darkness to our advantage.”

He wanted to scream, “ **_Good gods_ ** . Are you taught  _ nothing _ about the wastelands?”

Radiance gave him an angry, and slightly shocked look, while her brother, while also surprised by the ‘sudden’ aggression, shook his head.

“ _ Honestly _ ?” It was Wyrm’s turn to be shocked.

“Yes.” Grimm said

“Well then, I suppose I can’t blame you for not knowing something you were never taught…” He calmed down a bit, “Consider this your third lesson.”

“Third?”

“Yes, the first was how to survive the cold weather, find shelter, build fires, second was hunting. This is the third.” He waited for a sign to continue, which he got in the form of nods, “Now, I’m not sure how this is possible, or why it happens, but out here the darkness kills. Obviously things get colder at night, but somehow, if you go out at night, you start getting hurt, and I mean physically and mentally.” He said, sighing, “Lesson four, I’ve been more aggressive lately, I’m sure you’ve noticed, that's another effect of the wastes. It brings out base instincts, wyrm’s do have some resistance to this effect, but it’s still a rather brutal world to live in.”

“Oh? Do tell more.” Radiance said, while it was full of her usual mocking tone, it was sincere, she hated Wyrm, but curiosity was in the nature of all living beings.

He looked at them, “I won’t get too much into specifics, but a fight between wyrm’s is not one for survival. It’s for dominance. That is why I wish to avoid fighting. If I won I would have to kill them in order to avoid being leapt upon when I wasn’t paying attention. If I lost…” He glanced away, and that was all it took for them to understand. He didn’t need to say it. “It would be best to get some rest, we’ll be waking early and won’t stop until nightfall.”

He leaned against the cave wall, the other two found comfortable spots, it wasn't long before they were all asleep. Between the fitful bouts of nightmares mixed with strange dreams, (caused by being in such close proximity to their respective gods), and constant disturbance of his foresight-- ~~Tall buildings, ground shaking, it’s dark, it’s so dark, something is there, he can feel it, he doesn’t see it, but it sees him, and it’s watching~~ \-- sleep did not help. At All, but, they had to keep moving.

The young wyrm was far away, having burrowed under the ground and left, so that was one problem gone, but they had to deal with the parent eventually.  _ Perhaps you could shapeshift, burrow like the other wyrm did, go under or around the nest and avoid confrontation _ , the Pale god heard the nightmare king whisper in his ear, and flitched at that. His presence was gone before the Pale wyrm could respond. 

“Maybe.” Grimm started, taking a longer stride to match the shorter man’s pace, “Since we’ll be encountering other wyrms...possibly… fairly often… you could tell us your name.”

Wyrm gave him a suspicious side eye. He and Grimm are friends, yes, but that is a large request considering the power a god’s name holds. 

“Or… give us a nickname to call you by. To make things easier. In fact! I’ll tell you mine!”

“I already know your name, It’s Grimm. Every version of you has had the same name so far, and you’ve never corrected me when I call you that.”

“Not the first! The first Grimm named himself Inferno!”

“That’s interesting, I suppose, but ultimately irrelevant.”

“Oh come on! It’s going to get confusing if we keep calling you Wyrm, and we can’t call you ‘Pale King’ ether, you’re not a king anymore.”

“Pale wyrm, then.”

“That’s just Tedious!”

“You and I may be friends, but I don’t trust your sister near enough to have my name be out in the open.”

“Would you tell us if Randiace and I made a blood pact not to use it against you?”

“ _ Excuse me _ ?” Radiance said, “I will do no such thing.”

“I agree with her, for once.” Wyrm said.

“We’re doing it.”

“ **No** .” The Dream god and Pale wyrm said at the same time.

“Yes, get over here.” Grimm demanded, this caused radiance and Wyrm to sigh in annoyance. This was forcing them to stop, so much for making good time, but he wasn’t giving up till he got what he wanted. So, the other two didn’t have a choice, and while Grimm set things up, they both contemplated just walking away. 

They would have, but when they had settled on that decision Grimm grabbed both their arms. “You’re not getting out of it.” He took a blade and sliced his hand, he didn’t stop shoving the blade in Wyrm’s face until he had taken in and done the same, then repeated this with his sister. “Good, now.” he looked at his sister. 

“Fine.” she said, “I promise, on my blood and honor, that I won’t use your name against you.”

“I promise, on my blood and honor, not to use your name against you.” Grimm repeated. 

Wyrm sighed, a blood pact can’t be broken, the punishment for doing so is death, so he supposed it was safe enough. “I accept your promises, My name is Idarius. I expect you to hold true to your words. We all know what the consequences will be if you do not.” Now all it took was a hand shake, luckily no one resisted, the two hesitant parties knew they weren’t getting out of this, not this far in anyways. 

“Can we keep moving now?” Idarius asked, “We’re wasting daylight.” 

“Of course!” Grimm said, “Just make sure you patch up that hand!” He’d already cauterized his own using his flames.    
  
Idarius had healing abilities thanks to soul, so it took less than a second to get himself and Radiance healed and to get back on the road.

Pray to whatever god existed in these cursed lands that he doesn’t end up regretting this.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU! Radi was mercy-ed, Grimm is alive, Pk isn’t a total prick (he's tired). Also PK can Shapeshift in this (for plot reasons and wyrm shenanigans). There will be some angst, just a warning, but what do you expect, Oh! And I named PK "Idarius Arthur" (it's his true name, but he won't tell others that till muuuuuccchhh later). I haven't come up with a name for Radi yet, and NKG isn't really in this... Grimm's name is just Grimm :)
> 
> Also I edit as I write and I don't proofread crap, please let me know of any mistakes and areas that just don't make sense and I'll be sure to fix it!


End file.
